Financial Planning | Personal Finance | Article
Side Gigs For The Stay-Home Parent
by Sophia | 21 Nov 2019 | 5 mins read
As a stay-home parent, isn’t it a drag to depend on your spouse’s income to survive? You’re strong and independent (Beyonce believes in you) — and there’s no way you shouldn’t be able to have your own money to spend, right? So, what can you do if you’re looking for some income on the side? Let’s take a look at some typical homemaker side gigs, from the least to most lucrative!
Transcription Services (Transcribing)
Best suited for stay-at-home parents or homemakers who are taking care of infants to toddlers, transcribing is a great way to keep yourself busy in the quieter hours of the day.
How it works: You’ll be paid to listen to an audio file and are required to transcribe what you hear, word for word (to the best of your ability), onto a document.
How much you can earn: Around $0.61 to $2.36 per audio minute
Where to find transcription jobs: Job boards like Gumtree, or specific transcription services sites like Way With Words
Pet-Sitting
If taking care of one baby isn’t enough and you’re happy with adding a furkid into the mix, pet-sitting is a viable side gig that could get you quite a bit of money, depending on how often you do it.
How it works: Walk someone’s pet! Usually, customers will approach you on pet-sitting job boards and sites. Another variation of this job would be house-sitting, where you have to take care of a pet in someone’s house every day, for the period of their absence if they’re away on holiday.
How much you can earn: Around $20 to $40 per day.
Where to find pet-sitting jobs: Petbacker, Housesitter, PawShake, and other similar websites, or public boards like Gumtree and Carousell.
Baking
It’s time to flex your pastry and cake-making skills — because if you’re good at it, you might as well make some money from it! Perfect for homemakers who have babies to young children at home, home bakeries are a great way to spend free time at home and bring a smile to someone’s face with delicious food.
How it works: Take orders, usually via word-of-mouth or social media platforms, and fulfil those baking orders! Delivery might need to be personally handled.
How much you can earn: This is dependent on what you’re baking, what ingredients you need, and the hours of your labour poured into each order.
Where to start an online baking business: Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are very popular, but creating a personal website could work too. Generally, prices for cookies can go from $10 to $20 dollars a container.
Crafts
Fancy yourself as more of Bob Ross than Martha Stewart? Barring accidents with scissors and sharp objects, making crafts and selling them is a suitable side gig for homemakers who are good with their hands (just not necessarily in the kitchen).
How it works: Create whatever you’re passionate about or like, and put them up for sale!
How much you can earn: Much like baking, it’s dependent on many factors like materials used and the hours of your labour. According to Etsy, extremely successful crafts makers can earn around $4,000 a month — but that’s only if you’ve got an excellent range of merchandise to sell off.
Where to start selling crafts online: Sites like Etsy, Shopify, or even social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
NOTE: Sites like Etsy or Shopify may take a cut out of every final sale you make. Etsy for example charges $0.20 for every listing you put up, and takes 3.5% of the final purchase price.
Tuition
Perfect for homemakers who prefer to stay at home but still earn some money on the side, tutoring can be a great way to rack up your side income every month since education is always in demand. Turn your home into a mini classroom, and even rope your own kids into these lessons too for good measure.
How it works: Teach kids in the comfort of your own home, ranging from once to several times a week.
How much you can earn:
For degree holders
| Primary School | $30/hour |
| Lower Secondary School | $40/hour |
| Upper Secondary School | $50/hour |
| Junior College | $55 – $60/hour |
For MOE-trained individuals
| Primary School | $40 – $45/hour |
| Lower Secondary School | $55 – $65/hour |
| Upper Secondary School | $70 – $80/hour |
| Junior College | $95 – $100/hour |
Where to advertise tuition services: Joining tutor websites (expect agent fees in the first month), or advertising on social media and apps like Carousell if you prefer not to work with an agent.
Take back your (financial) independence as a stay-at-home parent with these homemaker side gigs, though this list is certainly not exhaustive. For that chance of financial relief and freedom to spend instead of living off a monthly allowance or off your spouse’s income, a little bit of work will go a long way.
